On September 8, 1994, US Air Flight 427 crashed as it approached Pittsburgh International Airport killing all 132 people aboard. The plane exploded on impact, scattering debris and body parts over a wide area of the wooded countryside and leaving a grisly scene for rescue and recovery workers who quickly arrived on the scene. The task of locating bodies and body parts, recovering and identifying remains, recovering possessions and plane parts, and cleaning up the site fell to a varied group of rescue, emergency, medical, and civil volunteers as well as airport personnel. Reports from members of the University of Pittsburgh Critical Stress Incident Debriefing Team suggested that this work was difficult and very stressful. The proposed research will evaluate lasting distress among disaster workers who worked at the crash site six months after the crash. In addition, potential mental health difficulties will be examined and the relative roles of stressor characteristics, coping, intrusive thoughts, and social resources in determining stress and mental health outcomes. A sample of 150 disaster workers and 50 comparable control subjects will be studied. These 200 subjects will have already completed an assessment within two months of the crash. In addition, we will measure stress-related endocrine and immune responses to begin to look at the possible effects of traumatic stress on health. Finally, the proposed research will build on the data collected from disaster workers and controls 1-2 months after the crash. Evaluation of changes over time as well as prediction of responses after six months will be possible by examining the data collected 4 months earlier and relating 6-month outcomes to them. We intend to apply for support to study long-term reactions of these participants 14-16 months after the crash as well as 24 and 36 months later. An application will be submitted February l, 1995 for an October l, 1995 start. The 6-month assessment described in this proposal will serve as an important intermediate assessment between the acute phase measures and planned long-term follow-up.